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OverviewPlay as Sonic or Tails to chase down Doctor Robotnik/Eggman once again. This time Sonic must also face a new enemy, Knuckles the Echidna.

tamh rates this game: 5/5

It wasn't until the third installment of the Sonic series that him and his partner Tails stapled themselves as the characters they're today. Not to take credit out of the first two games, but this game builds up a whole new story full with narrative shown via cut scenes.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is the first 1994 installment of the Sonic series and it builds up from the events of the past game, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, where Sonic foiled Dr. Ivo Robotnik's (Eggman in Japan) plans, destroying the Death Egg's propulsion systems.
And well, this time, the good Dr. is back to his evil deeds, as the Death Egg collapsed on top of the sky-floating Angel Island, pulling it downwards to the ocean. Sonic and Tails got hold of this situation and rush as fast as they can towards the island in their trusty airplane, the Tornado. The Dr. is trying to fix the Death Egg to launch it again and try his luck on world domination.
Upon arrival to the island, Sonic loses his Chaos Emeralds via a punch to the face, thanks to Knuckles the Echidna, the faithful but naï¿½ve guardian of the secret Master Emerald, which power keeps afloat the island in the sky. He has been tricked by Robotnik to think that Sonic's the one responsible for Angel Island's descent and that they might steal the Master Emerald.
In the shortest but most enjoyable game in the classic Genesis series, we have Sonic rampaging with speed thru the areas of the mystic island, following Robotnik's traces. Top notch platforming skills are required for some parts on this game, which are notable for being ridden with spikes, enemies and void pits.
However, Sonic learned more moves this time around too. He learned the Insta-Shield, a move that expands a momentary shield that hurts any robot near to him and renders him invincible while he's on a jump. Tails doesn't gets left behind too, as he gains the power to fly thru the air, and swim whenever he's underwater for a short amount of time. He can also lift up Sonic if two players are joined together cooperatively in the main game.
To aid them also, the island has a new sort of shields that protect him or his partner from fire, drown or electricity, giving Sonic the ability to fly like a fireball, bounce around like a bubble or double jump defying the gravity while attracting rings, with each respective shield.
The Chaos Emeralds come around this time as well, behind the power of some well hidden giant rings, which bring 7 pseudo-3D special zones. Get those 7 Chaos Emeralds, and good old Super Sonic is back to the game after 50 rings and a double jump.
This game, as Sonic 2, features a competitive running mode, where two players face each other in 5 whole new areas to find out who's the fastest of all.
Albeit short, with only 6 zones, and a short final boss fight, this game is enjoyable, and together with the save game feature, opens up a new world of possibilities, which would only be achieved by plugging this game in the Sonic & Knuckles Lock-on port converting this game to Sonic 3 & Knuckles, the fully featured version of this game.
This european version is exactly the same as the USA version minus the timer. So, you might find this particular game a tid bit slower than the USA release.

DeriLoko2 rates this game: 5/5

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Europe) is a game that was developed and published by Sega. This game features Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, and Dr. Robotnik. Defeat Dr. Robotnik, who wants to take over the universe, and the war will be over.